If you’ve been on YouTube for the past few years, chances are you’ve heard of The Try Guys. Maybe you’ve even watched a video or two—or maybe you’re a long-time subscriber! Wherever you may fall, there is no denying the impact this quartet of badass men have—an impact that is overwhelmingly positive and well-earned.
The Try Guys started on BuzzFeed in 2014 as a group of internet-savvy millennial men—Keith Habersberger, Ned Fulmer, Zach Kornfeld, and Eugene Lee Yang—who are here to try anything. Some of their most popular Buzzfeed-era videos range from weird food challenges to drag performances, and even finding out what it’s like to go through labor.
In 2018, they reached an agreement with BuzzFeed to form their own independent production company to continue creating content as The Try Guys. They now upload content twice a week on their YouTube channel and post one episode a week on their podcast The TryPod. On top of their regular schedule, they just finished their first tour last year and published a self-deprecating self-help book titled The Hidden Power of F*cking Up.
But what is it, other than the BuzzFeed origin story, that makes these YouTube guys so popular? Well, not only are they a quartet of comedians from the digital generation, but they are also unafraid to be their authentic selves—they are a group of co-workers turned best friends and role models for viewers young and old.
Kornfield, the youngest of the Try Guys, says that the group’s diversity is part of their strength: “I think we make each other better in the ways that we’re different. …our backgrounds are really diverse in the content we enjoy and the content that we aspire to make. … I think for any creative partnership it’s important to surround yourself with people that can challenge you intelligently and creatively.”
Yang, whose performance art coming out video went viral last year, explains how the content they create has affected them, saying, “The four of us have shifted a lot in regards to the aspects of our personalities and our stories and even the way we formulate content… I think as you become a more open person and let others in, just in your regular life, you’ll be surprised by how much you find and how you can then incorporate that into the work you put online.”
Habersberger, who released his own hot sauce this past December, explains how one of the goals of their content is to “change what it means to be masculine, and to be a guy that’s OK with being vulnerable”.
Fulmer, the only Try Guy to be an actual father (outside of their videos where they try out life as parents, of course), adds, “We hope that when we try something outside of our comfort zone, it inspires other people to try it. Doing that makes the world a smaller place.”
Featured Image by Rachel Feiner
